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REPORT. 



State of Maryland 

State Oyster Police Force, 

October, 1869. 
To the General Assembly of Maryland : 

Sir : — I have the honor to submit the following report upon 
the Oyster resources of this State : 

The Oyster in the Chesapeake exists in its native and 
uncultivated condition ; none of the laws relating to it have 
provided any adequate means for its protection, but on the 
contrary, the general effect has been u to open wide the door 
for its enemies, enabling us not only to predict its decrease, 
but its early destruction as an article of wholesale tiade, in 
a few years, and the consequent loss of the direct public 
revenue therefrom. 

This is the more to be regretted, as the peculiar adapted* 
ness of the beds of the Chesapeake and its tributaries to the 
propagation and growth of the Oyste r, and its wonderful 
natural increase, would, with ordinary care, supply us with 
a delightful and nutritious article of food at the cheapest 
rates, and insure a material increase of the public revenue 
for all time. 

It is to be hope 1, therefore, that our people will discard a 
serious consideration of those views, which it will be evident 
originate in local or individual interests, where they conflict 
with the general good in this matter, and permit the enact- 
ment of a law restraining and regulating the present thought- 
less and improvident industry that takes every Oyster where- 
ever found, regardless of reason, size or condition. 



/ 



It is weil known that on the coast of France and England 
the Oyster had nearly been destroyed — becoming so rare as 
to disappear as an article of trade, and only to be found on 
the tables of the rich ; and this condition exists in England 
at the present; but in France, since 1869, owing to the inves- 
tigations of the celebrated savant, M. Coste, the matter has. 
been taken in hand by the Government, and wholesome laws 
enacted for the protection and cultivation of the Oyster, which 
has resulted in a bountiful supply, even for persons of limited 
means, and given employment to snores of thousands of poor 
dwellers upon the sea shores, who would otherwise be living 
in the utmost poverty and obscurity. 

I regret that the laborious duties imposed upon the Oyster 
Police Force by the law, and the want of instruments, mate- 
rial, &c, have prevented me from making observations as to 
the extent and growth of our Oyster beds, to be embodied in 
the form of lithographic charts, with marginal notes for distri- 
bution to the counties; for I believe that this course — bringing 
the subject to the attention of the people, and giving them a. 
comprehensive view of it — would go far towards reconciling 
the widely differing opinions I have heard expressed during 
the last two seasons, particularly in the tide water portions 
of the State, and which have caused me to fear the Oyster 
will be nearly destroyed before any legislation can be effected 
to remedy the evil. 

In our Avaters there are two great interests in the Oyster 
trade, which have always been, and are likely to continue, at 
war, viz: the dredging and the tonging. The first has 
nearly all the means, and is backed by the wealthy. packers. 
It has large vessels, well manned, equipped for heavy weather, 
and weeks of service off shore. 

The latter class is represented by as many laborers, but is 
scattered in small boats that can only take the Bay in com- 
paratively smooth weather ; in other words, the dredgers are 
strong and comparatively rich ; the tongmen are weak and 
poor ; and the worst of it is, that the former rarely lose an. 
opportunity of impressing this fact upon the mind of the 
latter, by a too frequent transfer of the Oysters from the rich 
inshore beds — reserved by law to the tongmen — to the holds 
of their own vessels. 



Any boundaries defined by law lor the separate working 
of' the two classes of Oystermen, must necessarily consist of 
imaginary lines, as the immense extent of ou< Oyster-beds 
would render it far too expensive to resort to buoys or artifi- 
cial landmarks; but in neither case could the dredgers be kept 
from infringing the rights of the tongmen, unless the risk of 
punishment is made greater than the inducement to do so. 

The ever-increasing demand for the Oyster, as an article 
of export, has so stimulated the trade in the Chesapeake, 
that the Oystermen will risk almost any weather, and over- 
come great opposition, to enable them to reach the handsome 
profits that are being offered them in the market; and a con- 
vincing evidence that their profits are great, is shown in the 
readiness with which these men pay their fines — ten thousand 
dollars having been imposed last season, and yet during the 
first month of this, one hundred and twenty-six more vessels 
are licensed than duriug the same month last season, 

If, therefore, dredging is to be permitted, there is no way 
of doing justice to both these classes, unless after giving them 
ample opportunity to learn the law, such fines and other 
punishment shall be imposed as will make a violation of the 
law altogether too gnat a risk to incur. 

In order to preserve our Oyster-beds as a permanent source 
of revenue, and to supply the reasonable demands of the 
market, I would earnestly recommend that dredging be 
restricted to the period from the first of November of one 
year, to the first of May of the next, and that the heaviest fines 
be imposed for dredging at night — say from sunset to sun- 
rise. 

It is warmly urged by persons who are interested in the 
dredging business, that that mode of taking the Oyster im- 
proves its condition, and increases the product of the beds. 
This has frmitrue, though only to a very limited extent ; but, 
as dredging is carried on at present in the waters of Maryland, 
quite the contrary effect is produced. Where the Oyster-beds 
are very thickly covered, and a latter year's growth is over- 
laying and ch)king that of a former, (as is seen in Virginia, 
but not in Maryland,) so that this process going on from year 
to year, is forming on the beds those conglomerate masses of 
shell and marine deposit termed Oyster rocks frequently rising 



6 

from a depth of sixty feet of water to within a few feet of the 
surface, then to stop this process and, as afarmer would thin and 
weed his plants, use the dredge and spread the beds, giving 
/more space to the Oysters to feed and develope themselves, is 
'undoubtedly an advantage. But when this spreading and 
thinning has been done sufficiently, and we look at the other 
extreme, as in our waters, and find five hundred and sixty- 
three vessels, each having two dredges, that when filled 
weigh one hundred and fifty pounds each, making eleven 
hundred and twenty-six harrows, dragged by vessels, some 
of nearly sixty tons burthen, under full sail, over the beds 
night and day, without regard to the size or condition of the 
Oyster, we can readily see that the work is greatly overdone. 

The Oyster is hermaphroditic, and each adult is said to 
generate about one million young a year, which is doubtless 
the truth. But the enemies of this delicious mollusk are so 
numerous and actively at work, that one in a million of the 
annual production does not come to maturity. 

In the water, the star fish, the drill, the winkle, the 
crab, the drum fish, the sheepshead, the dog fish and the ray, 
during their season, subsist in a great measure upon the 
Oyster ; but the unseasonable baud of man gives it no rest, 
and is greater than all other enemies combined. 

The Oyster ejects its spat from April to about August, and 
the old Oyster, shells, and other congenial substances on 
the beds, soon become covered with young Oysters, the shells 
of which do not attain to sufficient size or strength to admit of 
handling, or other disturbance, until about the first of No- 
vember ; but the heavy harrow-like dredges commence drag- 
ging over the beds the first of September, and keep up until 
June, a grinding and attrition of a thousand Oysters to every 
one that is taken, thus crushing out the life of the young, 
filling up the open mouths of all with the bottom, covering 
them up, and turning and leaving them in every unnatural 
position. 

The tongs or rakes have no such effect ; they touch the 

beds in one small spot, gather on that spot alone, and bring 

up nearly all they touch, and, moreover, are not so heavy, 

r roughly used, as to crush or injure either the old or young 

zster. 



It is nob necessary, therefore, to restrict the labors of the 
tongmen, rather encourage them to the fullest extent, but it 
is worthy of serious consideration, if it is not well to give a 
year's notice that dredging shall cease in the waters of 
Maryland for three years, (the length of time the Oyster 
takes to come to maturity,) and let the market be supplied by 
the tongmen, which can easily be done, and without decreas- 
ing the revenue of the State except, perhaps, for the first 
year. In the meantime, the Oysters would be increasing 
with wonderful rapidity in the deep water not used by the 
tongmen, and at the expiration of the three years, let dredg- 
ing be carried on to a limited extent, that is, confined to cer- 
tain months, not exceeding six of the year, and regulated so 
as not to interfere with the tonging. 

This would insure us a permanent trade and revenue, .such 
as we have a right to expect from the great resources which 
nature has given us in the Chesapeake and its tributaries. 

It would not do to stop dredging suddenly, as the material 
which those engaged in the business have provided would 
be thrown back upon their hands at a great loss, but the 
Legislature could pass a lav/ this winter, limiting it to the 
months belioeen October and May, for the following year, and 
after that, stop it altogether for three years. 

Dredging at night, say from sunset to sunrise, should be 
punished severely, as there can be but a very limited protec- 
tion, or cultivation, of the inshore Oyster-grounds, when 
constantly menaced by such an enemy at night. 

When Oyster-beds have become reduced to a certain de- 
gree, in our waters, they will soon cease to produce at all, 
although the ground may be the most congenial for the pur- 
pose, as the Crustacea, shell, and other fish, which prey 
upon them, will destroy the young as fast as they assume a 
\angible form, and many of the old will meet the same fate, 
and the rest die out. Therefore, where bedding is under- 
taken, the Oysters must either be well protected, or else sown 
in Such quantities as to enable the increase to get ahead of 
the destruction. 

Last season ther® were live hundred and sixty-three ves- 
sels licensed to dredge for Oysters, averaging^twenty-three 
tens each, carrying about eight hundred bushels at a load, 

i 




8 

and making two loads a, month to market for, say seven 
months of the year : summing up six million, three hundred 
and five thousand, six hundred bushels taken by the 
dredgers. 

During the same period, there were nineteen hundred and 
seven canoea licensed, each taking about five bushels per day 
for twenty-six clays of the month, and seven months of the 
year, making one million, seven hundred and thirty-five 
thousand, three hundred and seventy bushels taken by the 
tongmen, for sale, which with, say two million bushels taken 
during the season for '-private use," will give an aggregate 
of about ten million bushels taken from tho beds of Mary- 
land annually. 

These Oysters will average not less than thirty-five cents 
per bushel, which gives, in round numbers, three million, 
five hundred thousand dollars as the annual value of our 
Oyster product, from which the law only enables us to de- 
rive a revenue of about forty thousand dollars above ex- 
penses. 

When the light expense of getting these Oysters to mar- 
ket, and the fact that they belong to the ivhole State, is con- 
sidered ,^it appears strange that we should neglect so fair an 
opportunity of increasing our revenue. The price of a dredg- 
ing license should be increased from three to five dollars 
per ton, of the vessel. Those engaged in the business can 
afford to pay it, all that is said to the contrary notwith- 
standing. If the increased price of a license, and the reduc- 
tion of a dredging time, should drive any from the business, 
very well, let them go, the tongmen will take their places 
fast enough; the Oyster-beds will be improved by it; plenty 
of Oysters will get to market; the revenue will increase pro- 
portionably, and the people will be generally benefited. 

Taking an average^ of all, we will say, the value of a 
dredging vessel is eight hundred dollars; pay of _crew , sevei 
hundred dollars; w r ear and tear, one hundred dollars; food 
and fuel, three hundred dollars; making nineteen hundred 
dollars expenses for the dredging season. 

We have seen herein, that such a vessel will run about 
tleven thousand two hundred bushels to market a season, 
which, at the average price of thirty-five cents, is thirty-p'" 



hundred and twenty dollars ; leaving a profit of two thou- 
sand dollars to a man who is owner and master, after having 
paid for vessel and everything invested. This dredging 
business in the Chesapeake, where a comfortable anchorage 
can he resorted to in a few moment^, when desired, is much 
more remunerative than that of the Cod and Mackerel 
catchers, who risk their lives and their all, and frequently 
lose them, afar off the coast of New England, for months, 
duriug the stormy season, and many nights anchored on the 
ocean, with the sea breaking over them from stem to stern. 
And surely, then, in Maryland a superior class of men 
cannot allege their hardships in the Oyster trade as a reason 
for not increasing the price of a license. 

I would recommend that a tax be imposed on the carrying 
trade, both ashore and afloat. Virginia has long been col- 
lecting such a tax, thus almost doubling her revenue from 
Oysters. 

I quote from her Inspector's regulations, under the law : 

"All persons shipping or forwarding Oysters by any ves- 
sel impell ed by ste am, or by railroad, or by express compa- 
nies, shall first pay to the nearest Inspector the tax of three 
cents per bushel on all Oysters so to be shipped or for- 
warded " 

Fine for neglect of this regulation "not less than fifty nor 
more than five hundred dollars." 

"Any person desiring to catch Oysters may, if he thinks 
proper, pay the sum of three dollars per ton on his vesssl, 
for a license to carry Oysters for one year. Such license per- 
mits the party obtaining them to carry or send Oysters to. 
any market in or out of the State, for twelve months, free of 
further charge on his said vessel." 

"All persons engaged in packing, pickling or opening 
•Oysters for sale or transportation, shall pay a tax of one 
cent per bushel on all Oysters bought or taken for that pur- 
pose." 

These regulations are not only in accordance with the 
State statute, but they are constantly enforced by the Mili- 
tary Commander of the District at the point of the bayonet, 
which leads us to the conclusion that there can be no differ- 
ence of opinion between the National and State Governments 



10 

as to the constitutionality of those measures ; but we should 
consider that a State cannot prohibit the public right of 
fishery and navigation, though it can regulate that right. 

(The question is, in reference to the Oyster trade, where 
does regulation end and prohibition commence?) 

If, however, we impose this tax, it is best that it should 
not exceed the moiety ©f the Virginia tax. 

We are higher up the Bay than she is, and consequently 
farther from the Northern market by water. Our Oysters 
are not so salt and finely flavored, and do not command so 
high a price, and hence, we must offer an inducement in the 
lower tax for carriers to come to us. 

Instances occur of vessels clearing from fifteen to seventeen 
thousand dollars on a single trip from our waters to New 
England, and yet they do not pay a mill more than the 
average of about thirty-five cents per bushel for their Oys- 
ters, to the vessels and boats that carry them alongside 
fresh from the beds. 

As my duties do not permit me to interfere with the carry- 
ing trade, I have no means of ascertaining exactly what 
quantity of Oysters go directly out of the State; but as nearly 
as I can judge, it is about one-third of the product taken 
for sale, from which alone, with a tax of one and a-half cent 
per bushel, we would derive forty thousand dollars revenue, 
not including the expense of collecting it, which I am sure 
could be done for three thousand dollars. 

Large quantities of our Oysters are being run out of the 
gtate by vessels which have gone through all the forms of 
law, and obtained licenses to dredge, but the owners of which 
are non-residents of the State. These vessels are made over 
for the season undeT^false bills of sale ; the parties here ex- 
hibiting to the Comptroller genuine Custom House papers, to 
obtain which they took an oath as bona fide owners, as they 
again do in the Comptroller's office, knowing at the same 
time that the vessels are to be run wholly in the interest of 
the real owners elsewhere, and rarely or never landing an 
Oyster in this State. Thus are our citizens crowded out of 
their employment, in which the law proposes to protect 
them, and the results of their labors greatly diminished. 



11 

The Oyster Law, as is now clearly and generally known, 
lias very many defects; but no human mind could heretofore 
have seen what was necessary, in the conduct of this great 
trade, to protect the interests of the people in every respect. 

The use of the dredge for upwards of fifty years has been 
the means of keeping afloat a class of sailors, who, from the 
free and roving habits of their lives, removed from the 
restraints of society, and even of the law, (until the Police 
Force was appointed,) have grown to think themselves mas- 
ters of the Oyster situation, and the advantages and working 
of their trade have been kept to themselves by a tacit agree- 
ment, in order that they might reap all the profits without 
interference. 

No reliable data could, therefore, be collected upon which 
to frame a law that would dispense justice to all, and satisfy 
the demands of the people at large, in this matter, until the 
means had been put afloat, under the authority of law, to 
obtain it. 

It would be irrelevant, in this report, to show the particu- 
lars wherein the law is defective, or to suggest any changes 
in detail, but I have prepared notes thereon, which I will 
have the honor of submitting when required. 

I will say, however, that the very nature of this business, 
conducted by such persons afloat, requires that a law more 
rigid in its provisions, and summary in enforcement, than 
laws are generally, be enacted as our Oyster Law. 

Under almost any Oyster law there will arise cases of ap- 
parent contrariety, and often involving abstruse principles of 
law, as shown in the administration of the one in force, by 
the opinions of the Attorney General, and in the many ap- 
peal cases, in which the best legal talent of the State has 
been engaged. 

Nearly all of these cases have first to go before the Justices 
of the Peace, whose total want of education, in some instances, 
renders them unable to comprehend a case, or pronounce an 
intelligent judgment. 

It is, therefore, a matter for consideration, how to perfect 
such a law as we require, at the same time placing its en- 
forcement in the hands of capable persons, who can be reached 



12 

without causing unnecessary expense, in time and labor, 
to the State, or to the arrested parties in time, and the pro- 
bable loss of perishable cargoes. 

Some uselul hints could be taken from the Virginia Oys- 
ter Law ; it taxes the carrying trade, and collects more 
revenue than ours—seems to dispense justice, and is more 
concise. 

But the advantages of requiring every vessel to pay for a 
license for the whole season's work, before taking or catch- 
ing Oysters, as in this State, instead of paying a tax per 
bushel at the time of loading, as in Virginia, are shown, in 
practice, to be so ranch greater in every sense, as hardly to 
require discussion. 

I think, contrary to the prediction of our earnest and ex- 
perienced Comptroller in his last Annual Report, that he 
will give us a very favorable exhibit of the Oyster fund this 
year. Instead of the " expenses absorbing all the receipts," 
(which, of course, could not have meant the purchase of a 
steamer, as she is property, and paying a handsome interest, 
too, in the way of fines, &c.,) he will, doubtless, show a 
balance, over and above the entire cost of the steamer, and 
all the expenses of the State Ojster Police Force, of from 
fourteen to fifteen thousand dollars, for the fiscal year. 

For the next year, having no purchases to make, the reve- 
nue will be increased by the amount of the purchases already 
made, and will also show an increase over former years, after 
deducting all the expenses of the State Oyster Police Force, 
etren if the law remains as it is, and in this connection, it 
should be remembered that sections 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 and 
38, of the law are inoperative, because there is no penalty 
for a refusal to permit the Oysters, sold in the city of Balti- 
more, to be measured, and in consequence about ten thousand 
dollars have been lost to the State Treasury, in the last two 
seasons. 

The least estimate I have heard, of the quantity of Oys- 
ters sold in the city of Baltimore a season, is five million 
bushels, and if, as the present law intended, one cent per 
bushel is required to be paid, (by amending the above men- 
tioned sections,) fifty thousand dollars can be collected from 
this source. Then, instead of requiring an unlimited num- 



13 

ber of measurers to take out licenses, let a proper number 
be appointed by the Governor, subject to the supervision of 
the Bureau of Labor and Agriculture, and to receive a certain 
proportion of what they collect, say one-half, which would 
pay ten reliable measurers — an amply sufficient number 
for the purpose — leaving the sum of twenty-five thousand 
dollars to the Treasury per annum. 

It is impossible to execute any practical method of regula- 
ting the taking and trade of Oysters, without a force afloat ; 
private rights, the maintenance of the peace, and even the 
majesty of the law, are but names without it. The State is. 
entitled to a revenue from lier Oysters, and the people de- 
mand protection in the trade thereof. 

The present force cannot be reduced and be efficient ; on 
the contrary, it cannot now do more than -half the duty re- 
quired of it. 

The journals and books of record, regularly kept, will 
show the amount of duty performed, and are always open 
to, and shown, any citizen interested. 

We have but one small, slow steamer, with which to visit 
twenty-five different Oyster localities scattered sometimes far 
apart, over tortuous routes, the extremes of which are one 
hundred miles from north to south, by seventy-five from east 
to west. I mention these facts here, because the people have 
been led to expect too much of this force, without consider- 
ing the imperfections of the law under which it operates. 
It is expected to be in every locality at intervals of a few 
days, whereas about two months are required to make a com- 
plete tour of inspection, taking into account the time con- 
sumed by the average number of arrests and trials. 

Those who are in the habit of violating the law, keep the 
run of our movements by a regular system of reports from 
one to the other, and thus are often enabled to escape pun- 
ishment for their offenses ; but because all is not done that 
is desired, is no evidence that the force is not necessary ; it 
rather shows that the force should be increased to a propor- 
tion that will cover the field of duty. 

To the first of October of this season, one hundred and 
forty-six cases have been tried before the Courts and Justices 



14 

of the Peace by the Police Force, and ten thousand dollars 
fines have been imposed, which has materially modified the 
lawless operations of the Oystermen ; and, it is my opinion, 
that the patient consideration and attention which is due to 
every new enterprise, will in due time make this Force the 
means of developing our Oyster resources to an extent that 
will give the trade the highest rank in the market of the 
State. 

The extent of our Oyster-beds is about three hundred and 
seventy-three square miles, ninety-two of which are closely 
covered, and the remainder scattering. 

This field could be made to give profitable employment to 
twenty thousand laborers, in a few years from this, under 
the administration of proper laws. 



15 



The Oyster Grounds are divided nearly as follows 



LOCALITIES 



Swan Point, Kent county 

Chester River 

Sandy Point to Thomas Point, A. A. co. 
Love Pt. to Kent Pt., Queen Anne's co.. 
Thomas' Pt. to Horse Shoe Pt. ,includ 

ing S. and West Rivers, A. A. co 
Eastern Bay and Miles River, includ- ) 

ing Poplar Island ) 

Horse Shoe Pt. to Holland's P., A.A.co 
Holland's Pt. to the Patuxent, Cal. co.. 
The Choptank R., including Sharp's ) 

Island, and the outside of Tilgh- > 

man's Island ) 

The Hudson River, Dorchester county. 
From the Patuxent to the Potomac. 
From the Hudson River to Hooper's ) 

Straits, Dorchester county ) 

Honga River and Hooper's Straits, ) 

Dorchester county ) 

Fishing Bay, Dorchester county 

Nanticoke River, Dorchester and J 

Wicomico counties ) 

Monie Bay and Wicomico River, Wi~ I 

comico and Somerset counties ) 

Holland's Straits, Dorchester county.. 

Kedge's Straits, Somerset county 

Manokin River, Somerset county 

Big and Little Annemessex Rivers, j 

Somefset county i 

Tangier Sound, including Holland's J 

Straits, Dorchester, Wicomico and > 

Somerset counties * 

Potomac River and tributaries 

The Patuxent River 

From Hooper's Straits to the Virginia | 

line, on the Bay Shore ' 

Total 



Remarks, 



6 
30 
11 

8 

20 

50 

8 

8 

30 

15 

8 

10 

12 
10 
14 

12 

7 
2 

7 
10 

50 

20 
10 

15 
373 



Scattering, 



10 Close. 

10 Scattering 

Scattering. 



Close. 
Scattering. 



Close. 

Scattering, 
u 

Close 
Scattering. 

Close, but thin. 
Scattering. 



16 



Number of Vessels and Canoes licensed in each county and 
Baltimore city, their tonnage, dec, during the season of 
1868 and 1869. 



COUNTIES. 


to 

p 

«>■ 

> 


© 

bO 
eS 

a 

a 
o 
H 


Tonging 

Canoes. 




1 


25 


105 


Talbot 


' 246 








81 


Kent 


1 

20 

238 

12 

46 

1 

I 

2 

1 

240 


24 
256 

4,726 
143 

1,316 
42 
29 
32 
28 

6,039 


93 


Anne Arundel 


222 


Somerset 


246 


Wicomico 


110 


Dorcli ester 


257 


Prince George's 




St. Mary's 

Baltimore city 


22 
336 
189 








563 


12,660 


1,907 



The live hundred and sixty-three dredging vessels, last 
season, employed twenty-one hundred and seven white men. 
and fourteen hundred and fifty-three negroes. The canoes 
employed about thirty-three hundred and twenty-five in all, 
with the same proportion of white and negro labor ; making 
a total of sixty-eight hundred and eighty-five men, indepen- 
dently of the labor employed in the carrying trade, which 
would probably swell the number to between nine and ten 
thousand hands employed afloat in the Oyster business. 

The most liberal encouragement should be given to per- 
sons to plant and cultivate the Oyster. I know of no enter- 
prise which is mor<? remunerative, and which need give less 
anxiety as to certainty of results, if ordinary personal at- 
tention is given to the business. 

Almost every bend of our shores, protected from the 
storms, is a little mine of wealth, if the efforts of our peo- 
ple can once be turned in that direction. 



17 

Few persons, not engaged in the trade, are aware how 
rapidly Oysters will increase in size and condition when 
taken from the native beds, the clusters separated, then 
culled and planted singly, and permitted to rest, undis- 
turbed, for a season. 

I know of an instance where fifteen thousand bushels were 
thus taken and treated, costing not exceeding fifty cents per 
bushel from first to last, and every bushel of which is now 
worth in the market one dollar and fifty cents. This is by 
no means an exceptional case, and is another strong argu- 
ment in favor of restricting dredging, in order that labor 
and capital may seek this method of developing and giving 
a permanency to a trade now being destroyed, at the same 
time supplying the market with a superior and more re- 
munerative article. 

The approval, by the Hon. Commissioners of the State 
Oyster Police Force, of the Oyster boundary line between 
Maryland and Virginia, from Smith's Point to Cedar Straits, 
via the southern extremity of the Smith's Islands and 
" Horse Hammock," has settled all dispute between the 
Oystermen and the Police Forces of the two States, in that 
locality, as far as any boundary line could do so; and, also, 
has enabled the trade to pursue its peaceful course to the ad- 
vantage of all interested. 

Somerset county has enjoyed for many years, the exclusive 
privilege of dredging for Oysters within her own boundaries 
— the proceeds of the licenses being paid to her school fund. 
She has three-eighths of the whole dredging tonnage of the 
State, (as shown above,) and most of this turned loose for 
years on her water, to work in any depth, has so reduced the 
beds, that her Oystermen now exclaim, " Our Oysters are 
gone !" 

The result is, that the Somerset men encroach upon the 
rights of the adjoining counties, and this has been going on 
for some time, creating such hard feelings as to lead to the 
habitual use of firearms onboard the vessels and boats in 
Tangier Sound. The equity of the Somerset law is not very 
apparent : she has a law passed giving her the exclusive 
right to take, in a wholesale way, a large portion of the 
State s Oysters — and even the license money goes to her 
2 



18 

school fund ; at the same time, her citizens can jret license to 

dredge in any other waters of the .State, not within the limits 

of any county. 

She cannot claim these privileges on account of her large 

tonnage in the trade, as Baltimore has nearly a third more 

t 
than she has, and must, of course, keep outside of all county 

lines ; and the placing of this large tonnage in the trade, by 

a county, is not such an advantage to the State as to induce 

her to concede additional and exclusive privileges therefor, 

the advantage being rather in favor of the county. Nor can 

she claim them by reason of the Oyster product, within her 

boundaries, as she is rapidly exhausting it ; moreover, the 

Oysters in the broad waters of the Tangier Sound can hardly 

be said to belong to any county, the boundaries of which are 

formed by distant marshes, having a dry spot here and there, 

settled by a \cry lew fishermen. 

I h ive felt it my duty to advert to this local Somerset law, 
because it occasions much dissatisfaction in the State, ren- 
ders it very difficult tor a police force to perform its duties in 
that vicinity, is exceptional, and hence, unjust in its provi- 
sions, and stands in the way of a general law that may de- 
velop this great trade to the advancement of the wealth and 
the influence of our State, in the scale of the nation. By 
reference to a map or chart, the relative Oyster interests of 
the three Tangier counties, and the evil effects of granting 
privileges to one county that are not granted to the others, 
in the very same locality, will be immediately understood. 

Two methods are available as remedies : 

First — Repeal the Somerset local law, leaving only th» 
general law, under which all counties must carry on the 
trade alike. 

Second— Repeal said local law, but grant its privileges to 
the three Tangier counties under the general law ; which 
could reasonably be done in the one sense, that the Tangier 
waters of those counties are widely separated from all other 
counties of the State, controversies with which would not 
be likely to arise on this subject. 

But as the matter stands, such legislative action should ba 
taken as will place all the ojstermen of the Tangier Sound 
under one law, thus reconciling conflicting interests, and 



19 

guarding against the occurrence of violence and "bloodshed, 
for the evil in that locality increases with every season. 

I respectfully recommend that authority be given the 
Commander of this Force to enforce the laws relating to the 
fisheries, as well as the Oyster trade, so that the duties of 
the Force would be, the "Inspection of Fisheries," construed 
by law to include Oysters. 

There seems to be a uniformity in this proposed system of 
administering the laws relating to matters afloat, through 
the agency of one office, that should commend itself to the 
consideration of the Legislature ; in addition to which, full 
and reliable reports can be obtained for the State Govern- 
ment at all times, touching its water resources, and compa- 
nies and individuals will feel a greater security in their in- 
vestments in such enterprises. 

Since 1820, upwards of thirty laws, relating to Oysters 
and the Fisheries, have passed the Legislature, and new 
forms and provisions have, from time to time, been adopted, 
evidently making an increased effort to meet the require- 
ments of the occasion, but without avail, which may all be 
attributed to the one fact, that there was no force afloat to 
enforce the laws, and collect reliable and general informa- 
tion for the action of the Government. 

The subject of the boundaries of the counties, (lying on the 
Chesapeake and its tributaries,) in connection with the Oys- 
ter Law, has been the cause of several long and earnestly 
contested cases in the Courts, and the Attorney General, also, 
has given the matter due consideration, and published his 
opinions thereon, which, with the decisions of the Courts, 
tend to show that the subject demands the earliest action of 
the Legislature, from the doubt and uncertainty that sur- 
round it. 

It is quite evident that the laws relating to the Fisheries 
and Oysters cannot be perfected until the State and county 
boundary questions are definitely settled. 

I have purposely refrained in this report from going into 
an investigation of the nature, growth and best method of 
cultivating the Oyster, or any scientific analysis of the sub- 
ject, because I am quite sure, from my experience the past 



003 399 653 6 



20 



.wo years, that the trade having run far ahead of legislation, 
we have yet to take hold and regulate the matter as it is, 
gradually working ourselves out of existing difficulties, to a 
final development of these resources, upon a basis of increase 
and profit to our State, and her citizens individually. 

I have the honor to be, 

Very respectfully, 

Your most obedient, 

HUNTER DAVIDSON, 
Com. Slate 0. P. Force. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



003 399 653 6^ 



Hollinger Corp. 
P H8.5 



